Best Thing I've Found
by sofaritsalright
Summary: (Lit Fic) Set in modern day, ten years after "The Real Paul Anka". Jess is back in Stars Hollow, hoping to run into Rory, but instead he finds a girl that looks a lot like a Gilmore girl - and a lot like him as well.
1. On The Road

**A/N:** Thanks to the revival and news of Milo returning, I was struck with inspiration. Please note that this takes place after Jess's last episode, but it's what happened if she would've gone through in sleeping with him and cheating on Logan instead of walking out. Let's forget that the most heartbreaking line in history ("It's what it is. You, me.") never happened.

Also, I'll be updating my other Lit fics tonight, but inspiration hit and I had to get it out. I hope you guys enjoy! Please favorite, follow, and review if you like. It really keeps me going when I know that people like my work!

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 _"Because he had no place he could stay without getting tired of it because there was nowhere to go but everywhere, keep rolling under the stars…"_

- _On The Road_ by Jack Kerouac

As Jess pulled up to Stars Hollow, he got out of his car and sat on the hood. The Ramones played loudly in the background, but it still didn't bother him. In a sense, the sheer aggression and deafening noise seemed to comfort him. Especially right now, when he was about to step foot back in the town that he swore he hated. He made sparse visits to the place he once called home. Of course, the majority of the time that he spent there was hell, but it had a few ups, like Rory, for example. Sadly, it had been almost ten years since the two were in the same room together. After that night, she sadly went back to Logan. Jess always thought it was a terrible choice, but he heard through the grapevine that they had broken up eventually. He would've asked it about her himself, but every time he was in town, she mysteriously vanished; she had a great career that came with a lot of travelling, but Jess thought for sure that she'd have to show up sooner or later. Maybe this time she was around, he hoped. Every time he had that thought, though, she wouldn't be home.

He shrugged to himself and pulled himself back into reality. "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" played on loudly in the background, making Jess crack a smile. In that instance, he almost wanted Taylor to pull up next to him, just so that he could get the joy of annoying the man once more. At this point, he would even let Taylor call him a hoodlum for the millionth time, but just for old times sake. Instead of letting the anxieties and thoughts of what could happen eat him up, he got back into his car and pulled into town. The "Welcome to Stars Hollow" sign was only what felt like a two second drive away from Luke's, but something about the road made it feel like it had stretched on forever. As he pulled to the side of the road, he took one look around and suddenly realized that the place hadn't changed one bit. It was perfectly preserved in a globe by scientists, he thought. That could've been the only explanation of it not changing one bit since he was sixteen. Getting out of his car oddly resembled the first time he stepped off of the bus and met up with Luke after his mom pawned him off on his uncle. He tried not to think of old memories, but this was the one place in the whole world that made nostalgia creep up on him. Jess had lived in multiple places across the country, but every time he walked into this town, he realized that it was the only place that truly felt like home. Maybe it was because it felt like stepping into some weird Leave It To Beaver world, but whatever it was, it definitely had a grasp on him to this very day.

He swung the door open and heard the bell above ring. Something about it was oddly comforting. Looking around, he could tell that he had gotten there just in time for the lunchtime rush. Instead of darting off to find his uncle, he stepped behind the counter and took his old place was a waiter. Jess regretted it immediately when he noticed that Kirk had strolled up and sat across from him at the counter. "What do you want, Kirk?" He let out a frustrated sigh. Jess had no idea why he thought lending a helping hand would be an easy job – it was almost a karmic thing that brought Kirk to sit in front of him.

Upon hearing a different voice, Kirk looked up and glared. "You're not Luke," he said with a confused tone.

"Huh, I was under the impression that I was," Jess stated sarcastically. "What do you want Kirk?"

The older, less mature man huffed. "Pancakes and bacon."

"It's lunch," Jess stated matter-of-factly.

"Luke let's me have pancakes for lunch."

The younger man rubbed the back of his neck and blew out a puff of air. "I'm not Luke. I thought we already established that."

"You're as mean as Luke," he pouted.

Jess was about to give up and walk out, but instead he groaned. "How about a hamburger?"

"That's fine."

"Good, glad we could make a deal." Jess turned around and leaned into the kitchen to let Caesar know. At first Caesar wasn't phased, but a pleased look came to his face as soon as he realized who was speaking. Jess nodded towards him and turned on his heal, but ran straight into his uncle. "Uncle Luke," he greeted him with a large smile and a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Luke seemed more dumbfounded than excited, but he hugged his nephew back before taking a step back and crossing his arms. "And what are you doing behind the counter?"

"Being rude," Kirk answered with a shrug.

Jess rolled his eyes. "Being helpful," he corrected Kirk.

"He's being rude," Kirk told Luke.

Luke closed his eyes and shook his head at Kirk, trying not to acknowledge his presence. If anything, Luke was grateful that his nephew was able to deal with him for at least once that day.

"The customer's always right," Kirk added. Instantly, Jess and Luke shot him a daring glare and the man threw his hands in the air. He was about to speak again, but there was something too threatening about the two that he couldn't bear to do much other than sigh and look down at the counter.

"Where were we?" Luke added as he headed out to hand off coffee, letting Jess follow him. "Oh yeah, so why are you here?"

Jess' eyes widened as he looked at him. "Can a guy just visit his uncle without being bombarded?"

"Geez," Luke groaned, "I won't be asking again."

"Thank you." Instead of continuing any sort of conversation, Jess turned around and headed towards the upstairs office to unpack a few things from his bag. After spending a few moments in peace, he finally brought himself to going back down towards the chaos, but not before grabbing _Howl_ and shoving it in his coat pocket. He planned on heading towards the lake and reading it for old times sake. As he headed down the stairs, he heard the voice of a small girl, asking Luke for waffles. As soon as she asked, Kirk joined in by saying that it wasn't fair. Jess prepared himself for whatever storm he was about to step into with the crazy townsfolk that were as entertaining as they were annoying. "Someone gave you _another_ kid?" Jess joked as he pulled up next to Luke. Luke turned around to see him, forgetting that he was there. In that moment, Luke started to panic. Jess could see it in his eyes, but he wasn't sure the reason behind it.

"Who's that?" the little girl asked as she pointed towards Jess. If he were being honest, he would say that she resembled the Gilmore girls far too much, but he wasn't going to make any conclusions right off the bat.

"My nephew," Luke told her, suddenly sounding annoyed.

He was about to introduce himself, but as soon as he knew it, Lorelai darted through the door and rushed over towards the girl. In that moment he felt that he was right. She was definitely a Gilmore girl. The eyes and hair were what set him off to it – that and the fact that she had their patented quirk to her. He could see it without her even speaking a word. "Jess!" Lorelai hopped in her spot when she saw him standing next to who he presumed to be Rory's little sister. "Where did you come from, kid?"

"Why's everyone interrogating me?" He asked. He sounded more serious than he was, but Lorelai left it alone.

"Well, it's nice to see you," she smiled as her eyes shifted to the girl. " Elinor, we've gotta get going, sweetie."

"Why?" She prompted, looking at the elder Gilmore.

"Because I said so and whatever I say goes."

"Why?" She asked once more, making Lorelai roll her eyes.

"Because I'm the leader of the clan. The provider of the household, the alpha-male, and the one who's in hurry so there's absolutely no chance of arguing with me."

Jess smiled, knowing that he had heard that one before. It wasn't like Lorelai to reuse her lines, but he had to admit that it was a pretty good one.

"When will mom be back?" Elinor asked Lorelai with a frown.

Jess stepped back, preventing Luke from walking towards a customer. " _Mom_?" he mouthed. Luke shook his head and tried to get out of the situation before it went any further.

"Tonight, remember?" Lorelai stuck her hand out, waiting for her granddaughter to comply. "You sticking around for awhile?" she asked Jess as Elinor put her coat on.

"Uh," Jess stammered, "yeah, I guess so."

"I'll see you later then," she smiled before heading over and giving Luke a peck on the cheek. "You too, mister." Luke swatted her away, acting embarrassed of her gesture, but everyone in town knew that he secretly loved it.

As soon as the girls left, Jess scrunched up his face at his uncle. "Mom?" He asked once more, this time loud enough for the entire diner to hear. "Did Lorelai kidnap someone's kid?"

Luke's jaw dropped, as if he was going to say something, but instead he pursed his lips back together and continued on with his work. It wasn't three seconds later when Jess heard a _psst_ sound coming from down the counter. "What, Kirk?" he snapped.

"Mom is referring to Rory," he told the boy, "now if you'll excuse me. I'd rather talk to people who aren't rude."

Jess' eyes grew wide once more, "No, no, no, no, no," he whispered to himself. He walked out of the diner without saying a word and headed straight for the lake. He had no idea that Rory even had a boyfriend, let alone a kid. She didn't seem like the kid type to him, actually – at least not until her career simmered down. Instead of dwelling, Jess took out his book and read away. He'd apparently see her later that night


	2. Anchor

" _And I hear your ship is coming in_  
 _Your tears a sea for me to swim_  
 _And I hear a storm is coming in_  
 _My dear, is it all we've ever been?_ "  
"Anchor" by Novo Amor

 **x-x-x**

Later in the evening, Rory walked through the door of her mother's house with suitcases in hand. "Lucy, I'm home!" she screamed as she sat down her bags. It didn't take too long for Elinor to come bolting down the stairs to hug her mother. "Hey, kid," she greeted her with a large smile. Nothing in the world felt better to Rory then getting to see her daughter after traveling.

"Hey, kid," Lorelai repeated to her daughter as she stood at the top of the stairwell. "How was the Europe trip?"

"It was unbelievable," Rory started as she gestured with her hands, "you have no idea." She had been there plenty of times, but she never expected a journalism stint to be as satisfying as that one was. "I'll tell you all about it over dinner. I'm starving."

"Me too," Elinor retorted as she craned her neck to look up at Rory. "Off to Luke's we go," she smiled happily and grabbed a book off of the coffee table. She was trying to read The Fountainhead like Rory had at her age. She was more than happy that she had passed down her love of reading to her daughter, but she knew that Elinor eventually give up and wait a few years until she decided to read it again. That's how it worked for Rory at least.

Rory picked up her suitcase and headed towards her old bedroom. "Let me go set my stuff down and we'll go, okay?" Unbeknownst to her, Lorelai had quietly followed her in and shut the door behind her so Elinor couldn't hear them talking.

"Honey," Lorelai said with a serious tone, the tone that was used whenever bad things happened. For a moment, Rory panicked thinking that someone had died or was sick. She hadn't heard her mother speak like that since she was told that her grandfather had passed away and it made her heart race. "Sit down, I've got something to tell you."

Rory closed her eyes and sat down with caution. She wasn't ready for whatever was about to come from Lorelai's lips. "Did someone die?" she asked blatantly as if it were an everyday occurrence.

Lorelai gave her a sympathetic smile and let out a small bout of laughter. "No, nobody died. Sorry for scaring you." She looked over at Rory and cupped the girls' cheek in her hands, not knowing how to prepare her for the next words she was about to speak. "I don't know how to say this delicately, but Jess is in town."

"Huh?" Rory asked, suddenly panicking. Her Bambi eyes were now wide and bright and she looked like she was unable to comprehend the situation. "What is Jess doing here?"

"He's just visiting. It wasn't planned so there was absolutely no time to let you know."

Rory bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head. "Mom," she whined, "I can't do this."

Lorelai tugged on Rory's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "Yes, you can. I know you can. Let's just go to Luke's and see how everything plays off there, okay?" Rory nodded her head slowly and took in a large gulp of air before standing up and finishing unpacking a few things. She wasn't exactly sure how she should react to the news – if she should even react to the news, but deep within she felt as if it was going to be a disaster. Her stomach churned and turned in a way that made Rory feel as if she was going through morning sickness all over again. She stumbled over to her vanity and looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn't looked too fresh faced from her long flight home; it was obvious that she was more jet legged than she thought possible. If Jess was here, she wanted to look more exuberant than she did at the moment which made her take her shaky hands and try to put on makeup in order to look representable out in the town before going out. Rory never stopped thinking about the worst-case scenario in a situation such as this one and it was obvious that something bad could instantly happen if they were to run into each other before he left. Everything in her being was hoping and praying that he would not be there, but it was highly unlikely.

Rory finally left her room after minutes of touching up her makeup and changing her clothes. Nervously, she asked, "How does Al's Pancake World sound instead?"

Her daughter glared at her the only way a Gilmore knew how to and it scared Rory how much she had gotten that from Emily. "I want to go to the diner," Elinor whined. Of course she had gotten her whining from her mother and nana. It was another Gilmore trait that the girls had accidentally passed down.

After a few seconds went by, Rory nodded her head. "Off to Luke's we go then."

Elinor made a mad dash out of the house, leaving the other Gilmore girls behind. "It's going to be okay," Lorelai whispered as she placed a hand on Rory's shoulder and walked her out of their house.

 **x-x-x**

Once they arrived to the diner, Rory was greeted by some of her old friends. Luke had awkwardly tried to hug her, but it was almost worse than the day she was accepted into Yale. She sat down next to the girls with a dreary look on her face. "Why does he do that?" she asked her mother with a frown.

"Because he loves you," she stated matter-of-factly making Rory smile. He acted more like her father than Christopher ever did and he truly cared about the three girls. Rory was lucky to have someone like Luke, even if their hugs were quite odd. Lorelai and Rory scanned the whole place, making sure that Jess was nowhere to be found, but just as the anxiety started to fade from their stomachs, Lorelai saw him coming down from upstairs. "He's here," she whispered.

Rory turned around in her seat and looked back at him. Instantly when she saw him, it felt as if she had been transported back in time. There was something about the way he had always looked at her that made her weak in the knees and unable to speak. "Hey," Rory finally greeted him with a small smile.

"Hey," he said back as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Where have you been, stranger?"

She lifted her eyebrows at him and didn't speak another word. Instead, everything became a blur as she stood up from her seat and suddenly landed with her arms wrapped around him. Tears were brimming in her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder, squeezing him tighter and closer to her every once in awhile. Finally, she released herself after realizing that everyone in town saw her desperately hanging onto Jess of all people. He wasn't as hated as he used to be. In fact, some people finally came to like his presence around town, but Rory felt as if letting go would be the best for the both of them. As she pulled away, she saw the large smile on his face as he looked down at her. Rory's cheeks started growing hot and red, making her hang her head in embarrassment and sit back down at their usual table.

"Hi, Luke's nephew," Elinor waved. Rory wasn't aware that they had already met and started fearing for the worst.

"His name is Jess," Rory told her daughter with a grin.

"Hi, Jess."

"Hi," he said back. He was never a person with too many words to say. He would write books upon books, but for some reason, his mind went blank every time he spoke. "What's your name?"

"Elinor Bennet Gilmore."

Jess could hold back his grin once he put it all together. "Jane Austin?" he asked Rory, trying his best not to laugh. If it weren't for Rory, he wouldn't have understood the reference.

She nodded her head and looked up at him from her seat. Her eyes were sparkling like they usual did when she saw her old friend. There was something about Jess that Rory still didn't understand. It had been years since they had met, but he was still a mystery to her, especially now that they were all grown up. "Literary names seemed fitting," she shrugged.

"That's very you," he nodded, a small grin still on his face.

Once Luke brought the girls their food, Jess couldn't help but to look at Elinor. She had brought a book to the diner and read all the way through her dinner. The closer he looked, he could see that her hair was a darker tint than Lorelai's and Rory's. Something about it bugged him. Dizziness fell upon him as he thought that somehow he could've been her father. He knew Rory well enough to know that she would've told him. She shrugged it off as another mans kid for the time being, but before he left the diner to head over to Gypsy's, he ducked down and whispered in Rory's ear. "Can we talk later?"


	3. Nowhere

**A/N:** Heeey. I just wanted to drop in and say thank you all so, so very much for all the reviews, follows, and favorites that this story has already gotten. It's only three chapters in now, but I'm glad that you all like it thus far (: Please keep on doing those things because it makes me a happy camper! I hope you all like chapter three!

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"For him it was a dark passage that lead to nowhere,  
then to nowhere, then to again to nowhere, once again to nowhere,  
always and forever to nowhere, heavy on the elbows in the  
earth nowhere, dark, never end to nowhere, hung on all time  
always to unknowing nowhere, this, time and again for always to  
nowhere, now not to be borne once again always and to nowhere,  
now beyond all bearing up, up, up and into nowhere,  
suddenly, scaldingly, holdingly all nowhere gone and time  
absolutely still and they were both there, time having stopped  
and he felt the earth move out and away from under them."  
-Ernest Hemingway, _For Whom the Bell Tolls_

"You knew that she had a kid – for almost ten years – and you decided to not tell me?" Jess was feeling irate with the entire day. He wasn't meaning to take it out on his uncle, but it seemed like the perfect way to let off some steam. After all, Luke was more than used to Jess' rants and bitching. "We talk at least once a week," Jess stated, pointing a finger at the older man, "and not one time did you ever think to tell me, _Oh hey, so your ex girlfriend has a daughter now?_ " He rolled his eyes, knowing that the conversation was useless and ridiculous, but he couldn't help himself. Something about coming back to Stars Hollow usually made him want to scream, but not once did he think it'd be over Rory of all things.

"Jess," Luke sighed saying his name. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe she didn't want you knowing that she had a kid?"

The younger man wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. The fact that Luke would even bring that up made Jess feel pained. "Why would she not want me to know?"

Luke shrugged, "I don't know, nephew." It was a simple answer, but it was lacking honesty. Luke knew the truth, but he wasn't allowed to come right out and say it. Doing that would betray Rory and Lorelai's trust and he couldn't do that, especially now that he stepped up and played a bigger role in their lives. Saying something like this might end in divorce papers for all he knew. "You're still in love with her," he stated, looking disappointed. "It's been ten years and you're still in love with her? You've gotta let it go. That ship has sailed. It sailed the moment you left town the first time and yet, here you are, thinking that the ball is still in her court? Why would you do this to yourself?"

Jess' brows furrowed and he crossed his arms, suddenly feeling as if someone took a hatchet to his nicely built walls that he kept around himself. He had gained a lot of trust in Luke and over the years, he had always given him good, solid advice, but hearing something like that made Jess want to run. He wasn't exactly good with confrontation when it came to his own feelings. "I'm not still in love with her," he lied, "I just want to be sure that that kid isn't from Dean." Dean's name still tasted like venom on his tongue. He could remember the hatred that he felt when they first met and now it was even stronger if that's even possible. They had only bumped into each other a few times in the past decade and Jess could tell that the feeling was still mutual even though he had moved on with his second wife. Maybe Rory had a good hook on the guys she was with – a hook that she should just release them from, but to Jess, it was comforting in the strangest way possible.

"Bullshit," Luke spit out. "I see right through you, kid. Always have and always will."

"Is it so hard to believe that I'm worried that Dean has become Rory's doormat because of their love child?" He hated himself for speaking that sentence, but he had to get it out in order for the talk about feelings to stop.

Luke sucked in a sharp breath, "I can guarantee you that Elinor doesn't belong to Dean. He's happily married with kids of his own." He raised a brow at his nephew who started to look relatively relived by the word.

"That's good to hear."

Luke crossed his arms and stared at his nephew. "Really? _That's_ what calmed you down?"

"Whatever, I still don't like the dude."

"It was over ten years ago, Jess."

"So what?" Jess shrugged, heading over to sit in front of the TV like nothing ever happened. He and Luke had some serious talks here and there, but he never thought it'd be about Rory's ten year-old daughter.

x-x-x

Rory sat in the living room of her own Crap Shack, sighing at the empty air. Lane was sitting quietly next to her, shaking her head the entire time. The two had almost finished off an entire bottle of wine after the kids went to bed, but after talking about the Jess situation, neither of them knew what to do or say.

"You have to tell him," Lane offered, knowing it wasn't her most solid advice.

Rory scoffed, not expecting that to be her answer. "Why would I do that?" she rolled her eyes and took another swig of her wine. "You're my best friend, you're supposed to tell me to lie."

Lane offered a smile as she rubbed Rory's shoulder. "I would, but Steve and Kawn are into their lying stage now and we're trying to teach honesty as a cool thing, so I can't really help you out. You should know better than ten year olds."

"You're right," Rory huffed, sinking into her seat. Lane was _always_ right. "I should tell him."

"The truth?" Lane pressed, using her strict mom voice.

In response, Rory groaned and hung her head down. She didn't want to go through with it. Instead, she wanted to run out of town and hide somewhere in the universe where he couldn't track her down. This was a conversation she never wanted to have. Sometimes she thought that she should've told him off the bat to begin with, but telling Jess Mariano that he was going to be a father was something that Rory wasn't ready for... And she still wasn't ready for it ten years after the night at Truncheon. "This sucks," she frowned, "but I guess I'll tell him the truth."

"Good job. Should I tag along to make sure you don't bail?" Lane joked, but inside she was completely serious and was ready to follow them wherever they went. It's not that Lane was against Rory not letting Jess in on the secret, but she thought that the man should know. Not meeting your kid until she was almost full grown seemed unfair in Lane's mind and she knew that Rory had to agree on some level.

"I think I've got it from here," she nodded as she stood up. "I need to go get ready. Do you mind taking Elinor for awhile?"

Lane lit up at the question. "Of course not. She is my mini-Rory after all."

x-x-x

Later that night, Jess paced up and down the length of the bridge, thinking about all that had happened in that one spot since he moved to Stars Hollow when he was a teenager. There had been a lot of confessed feelings, depressing nights, getting to know the love of his life, and most importantly: Luke pushing him off into the lake. He knew that he had raised hell for Luke when he was younger, but nowadays, the two were able to laugh about it as much as possible. All hard feelings were erased and now they were as close as ever which was what Jess had always been missing with Jimmy out of the picture. The man stopped to pull the pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket and light one up. It wasn't often that he smoked anymore, but he was more anxious than he intended to be. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt the apprehension in the pit of his stomach, but it was bubbling over his insides in the worst way possible.

Not too long afterwards, Rory showed up, spooking Jess in the slightest way. He hoped that she didn't notice, but Rory always saw everything but never cared to remark upon anything. "Hey," Jess nodded as he took a drag of his cigarette.

"She's Logan's!" Rory blurted out.


	4. Daughters

"Oh, you see that skin?  
It's the same she's been standing in  
Since the day she saw him walking away  
Now she's left cleaning up the mess he made."  
\- "Daughters" by John Mayer

Jess stood still, frozen and unable to move from his spot. He gave her a stare that chilled Rory to the bone. She wasn't sure what was worse: the disappointment in his eyes because of the thought of Elinor being Logan's or the sadness that he wasn't the father. Rory had no idea why she blurted out the lie. She was scared. She had been scared for quite some time. To come out and say that you've been hiding a child from the man you once loved wasn't an easy task. In fact, it filled her with anxiety and dread. She knew this day would come, but she couldn't predict the outcome no matter how many different scenario's ran through her head. Needless to say, those sad eyes and silence wasn't one of those scenarios.

"Okay," he said finally, coming to terms that he had nothing else left to say. He was hurt and angry. He didn't know why he felt the way he did - it could've been because he hated Logan - but there was something about sharing a child with Rory that excited him... even though hiding it was a rather large problem in his eyes.

Immediately, Rory felt the words bubble up through her stomach and to her tongue. "I'm sorry, she's not Logan's, okay? She's yours." Her blue eyes swelled up with tears as she crossed her arms and stomped her foot on the ground. She didn't know what she hated more in that moment: Lying about everything, blurting out the truth, or herself for even being in this situation. If she would've told him straightaway, it would've never had to happen like this. The secret wouldn't have been held on to for so many years. She wasn't exactly sure what she was hoping for or what was going to happen when the day she'd finally tell him came, but it wasn't this. There was no scenario in which she lied and told Jess that a little girl that looked like a perfect mix of both of them could be another mans. She watched him closely, studying his actions. His jaw didn't drop like she was thinking it would. Instead, he sucked in his cheeks and looked at the cement, kicking his foot back and forth as he nodded. This was a move she saw quite a few times, mainly when he was pissed off, but she swore she could actually see the wheels turning in his head as they stood in silence.

He wasn't sure what to do or what to think. The news hit him like a semi truck straight through the gut. It was what he had originally thought, but there was a part of him that was begging for him to be wrong. If he saw it right away, then why was it so surprising now? Hearing the words said out loud might've had something to do with it, of course, or maybe it was the lie about Logan that had him feeling the way that he did. The man loosened his jaw and slowly let it drop as he took a deep breath. "I- Why did you lie, Rory?"

"I got scared," she admitted before chewing on her bottom lip.

"Okay, then answer me this: Why the **hell** did you think that keeping a child from me for what - Ten years? - was okay? How is it that everyone knew this huge secret? _Including_ Kirk, by the way, which is just the topping to this shitty situation. Not that Elinor is shitty. I'm sure she's great. How couldn't she be if you're her mother? But still, Rory..." He trailed off, looking into the distance. A sickening feeling filled his being. He didn't want to look at her in fear that he'd start screaming so loud that the whole town would wake up. It was way past their bedtime anyway. "I don't get it. What did I do to deserve this? I've changed. You saw it yourself. I'm not that asshole kid at the back of the classroom anymore. I'm not the guy who would up and leave you without warning. I was dumb then, but now I have my life together and I waltz in here just to find out that I have a ten year-old daughter? How do you think that's fair?"

Her eyes grew even wider as she shrugged. He asked questions that she didn't know the answers to. She hated to admit it, but she was the one to runaway like he did. "You're right, it wasn't fair. I'm sorry, Jess. I really am. I know that you've changed and I am glad that you grew to be the person I always knew you'd be. I just- I don't know why I hid it in the first place, but the longer it went on, the harder it was to tell you."

"Ten years, Rory." That's all he could say before clenching his jaw momentarily. "Ten years that I never got. Fatherhood probably isn't my forte, but this is bullshit and you know it. Lorelai knows it. Luke knows it. Hell, maybe even Kirk knows it, but hey, it's not like any of you bothered to tell me."

"Oh my God, will you stop bringing up Kirk?"

Jess rolled his eyes, wanting to smile, but forcing himself not to. "He instantly irritated me the moment I stepped foot into town. I'm not over it yet. But why don't we get back to the original topic, yeah?" She nodded as she pulled out her phone. Jess scoffed at her for doing so. Right now was definitely not the time for this. "Can you stop being so evasive?"

All she could do was hold up a finger, signaling to give her a second before holding up the screen to show him a picture. "This was right after she was born," she smiled. "I had to refrain from pulling a Lorelai and naming her Jess or Jesse or something along those lines. She looked just like you, didn't she?"

He was still angry, but his eyes lost their hardness the moment he looked at the picture. He was in absolute awe of it, but he was also dismayed by the time he didn't get to spend with her when everyone else did. He frowned as he closed his eyes, conjuring up what he was going to say next. He wasn't sure if he was going to go off on a rant about how hurt he was or tell her thank you for showing him the picture. Instead, "Can I meet her?" was the first question to run past his lips.

"She has no clue who her father is," Rory admitted, feeling terrible for having to say the words out loud. "But you can see her tomorrow. She seemed to like you more than anyone else did when they first met you. In fact, she wouldn't stop blabbering about you for a solid hour and a half." Rory let out a small chuckle as she thought about her daughter. She never thought that she'd be able to love anyone as much as she loved her mom, but that little girl had taken a large portion of her heart the moment she laid her eyes on her. "If you want to be a part of her life, I'm fine with that. I don't know what you want to do, but if that's it, we have to ease her into it. If you don't want this then I understand. You never seemed to take a liking in kids anyway."

Jess sighed before stepping closer to her and grabbing her hands. "I would never abandon a kid the way Jimmy did with me. I couldn't. It's not right."

Rory gripped his hands a little tighter, feeling more relived than she did guilty. The culpableness was still there, but she was over the moon about him wanting to be a part of Elinor's life. The fact that he didn't run away the moment that she spit out the truth was a sign that he had truly changed for the better.

"I need to get back to her before she wakes up and realizes that Lorelai's there and not me. She probably thinks I left again." Jess nodded, understanding the situation. "Meet us at Luke's in the morning, okay?"

"Okay." He smirked. It wasn't exactly a smirk that screamed happiness seeing that he dropped it two seconds later, but maybe to Rory it was a start. "Good night, Rory."

"Goodnight, Dodger," she grinned before turning away and heading home.


End file.
